Skip to main content

“Put it behind you.”

A thought by Zig Ziglar (2003-01-01) from his book, Zig Ziglar's Life Lifters (p. 138). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Zig is so good at dealing with the realities of life.  And this is a very good one.  So many people weigh down their present and their future with their past.

Zig says, “All of us have the opportunity to let our past either teach us or beat us. The choice is ours.”  And it is.

He goes on, “An anonymous writer put it this way: ‘There comes a time when we must clean out the closets of our lives so that we may have room for items that will enhance our lives. Let's search the closets of our lives and make a trip to the wastebasket. Throw away any hatred that may be lurking there, and be sure to toss out jealousy, bad attitudes, dishonesty, complaints, sin and hypocrisy. Before you finish, throw away that grudge you've been carrying against someone. Make room to add love, honesty, forgiveness and kindness, not to mention thankfulness for all of God's blessings. Go and make room for reverence and respect for God, from Whom all good comes. Stand back and look. Your life's closet is looking better, isn't it? Take a moment today to spring clean your heart. Ask God to come in and if He finds anything else that should not be there, to take it out so that you can live holy and right.’”

That would without a doubt be a good project for today.

He concludes this chapter by saying, “Carl Bard puts this all in perspective when he says, ‘Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.’ In many ways this is the major benefit of character, which is the foundation stone upon which all long-term positive relationships are built. Arthur Friedman says, ‘Men of genius are admired. Men of wealth are envied. Men of power are feared. But only men of character are trusted.’ It makes sense to deal with the past in order to enrich our lives and give us the freedom to be the best we can be. Guilt, anger, and fear are heavy burdens to carry. Doing the right thing eliminates guilt. Acting with integrity eliminates the fear of being ‘found out’ because you have nothing to hide. With the albatross of fear and guilt removed, you can travel faster go farther and have more fun on the trip.”


It will make a difference. So what is it in your past that you need to take care of?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...
Post a Comment
Read more

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

"To put it simply, worry isn’t just a bad habit."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 1). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Ok, that is interesting. Louie says, "Worry is an Enemy tactic—a strategy built on lies that are designed to rob you of peace and tear your mind to pieces. "That’s why it’s crucial that you are able to spot the lies worry tells." He goes on, "Not long ago while on safari in South Africa, Shelley and I were really wanting to see a leopard in the wild. Early and late on our game drives our eyes were set on every tree limb, bush, grassy hill, and river path in hopes of finding one of several leopards that were known to frequent this particular area. But here’s the thing: leopards aren’t bright orange with tall, sparkly antennae on their backs. They are designed to blend into the surroundings, like the bark of a baobab tree where they might be lounging on one of its mighty branches. "In the same way, ...
Post a Comment
Read more